All The Right Reasons
by berrywarbler
Summary: After a bad breakup, Rachel heads back to Lima to recover. After a party with the old Glee club, she starts to realize maybe she wasn't the most under appreciated. And maybe, there was someone from there perfect for her after all.
1. The Party Scene

Rachel hiccupped, giggling a little as Santana rolled her eyes, Brittany handing her a bottle of water. "It's been five years Berry," Santana reprimanded. "You'd think you'd grow some sort of alcohol tolerance by now."

"I don't drink a lot in the city," Rachel admitted, hiccuping again and resting her face on the couch she was spread out on. Coming back to Lima wasn't something she had planned, but after the last big fight between her now ex-boyfriend and her, she needed some space. Some time. And when she ran into a group of people from McKinley, who was she to turn down a small get together?

"Probably too busy winning over Broadway," Finn grinned from another couch, but she just scoffed at him. She saw through his words, saw through them enough to know that she was long over Finn, long past their relationship and trivial high school drama.

"Or too busy fucking that hot boyfriend of hers," Santana said crudely, Tina hitting her in the arm from her spot on the floor next to her.

"Santana, that's rude," Brittany reprimanded, falling into her girlfriends lap. "Weren't you the one who pointed out Rachel's newly single status on facebook?"

"Okay, too busy fucking that hot _ex_-boyfriend of hers," Santana corrected.

"I enjoy talking about hot boys as much as the next straight guy," Puck mocked, "but are we going to do anything other than get Berry so smashed she can't stand up anymore?"

"There's more tequila downstairs," Mercedes spoke up, but Puck tilted his head as he considered it.

"Maybe we can get Berry here to do some body shots," Santana smirked, Quinn rolling her eyes with a loud huff.

"There's beer," Mike offered from the doorway. "We could set up beer pong in the basement."

"And we have a winner!" Finn declared, popping up off the couch, Kurt and Brittany helping Rachel off hers as they all headed towards the basement.

"Maybe you should lay off for a bit Rach," Kurt suggests softly, and she nods, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm bad at beer pong anyways."

* * *

><p>"How's New York?" Mike asked as he slid onto the dresser that was pushed off to the side, handing Rachel a cup full of something that Rachel took greedily now that Kurt and Finn were teamed up against Quinn and Santana.<p>

"Amazing," Rachel answered honestly, because aside from the shit relationship she was getting out of, it was. "What about you? I haven't heard about anything you've been doing for awhile."

Mike shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "I went to LA for awhile after high school," he said, and she nodded, licking her lips from the fruity drink. "Got a couple dancing jobs, but nothing too steady. So I went to school, not for anything exciting, and now I'm just kind of-floating I guess."

"Stuck in Lima?" she asked, crinkling her nose at the very thought. Being 22 and stuck in Lima sounded like the worst thing in the entire world.

"For the time being. Until I can figure out where to go next," he answered.

"You should come to New York with me," Rachel suggested, wrapping an arm around one of his and resting her head on his shoulder. "You could dance in my theater company. We're always looking for people. Talented people." He let out a laugh, the sound warming her. She wasn't sure why she and Mike had never really talked before, why she had never noticed how _cute _he was when she knew just how talented he was, but in her inebriated state she made a decision: she was going to get Mike Chang to move to New York.

* * *

><p>"Berry! Are you completely gone or can you actually manage to walk over to the table and play a round of beer pong?" Puck yelled from across the room as Blaine missed yet another cup, sighing when Brittany tossed a ball perfectly into one in front of him.<p>

"I can play!" she offered, jumping off the dresser a little too quickly and nearly falling over in her heels, Mike's hand steadying her from behind. It had been a few rounds now, and it looked like the team effort of Tina and Brittany were going to beat _everyone _in the room. "But only if Mike is my partner," she added, halting Finn's offer to team up with her.

"Whatever," Puck replied, drowning the last cup as Tina and Brittany did a little dance from their end of the table, Mike leading Rachel over to where Blaine was now re-filling the cups for them.

"I'm really bad at this game," Rachel tried to whisper quietly, though Blaine's chuckle from the other side of her let her know she wasn't as quiet as she had wanted to be.

"That's okay," Mike assured her with a grin. "I'm awesome."

And for the next fifteen minutes, he proceeded to prove himself right.

* * *

><p>"You stopped drinking like an hour ago Rachel," Kurt complained as she wrapped her arms around his neck, swaying completely off beat to the song on the radio. "You can not seriously still be this drunk."<p>

"I am not drunk," she lied, the slurring of her words completely giving her away.

"At least she's not making out with everyone yet," Blaine countered as he walked by them, a smirk on his face as Quinn laughed from her corner, curled up on Puck's lap.

"Do you want to make out again Blaine? All you have to do is ask!" she offered loudly, Kurt grumbling in her ear about not wanting to watch his best friend make out with his ex-boyfriend _again_.

"I'm good, but thanks for the offer Rach," Blaine laughed in response, ruffling Kurt's hair before wandering up the stairs.

"Why are you hanging on me?" Kurt asked, and Rachel shrugged, resting her head on his chest as she swayed more, attempting to move her hips faster to the beat of the dance song in the background, but failing miserably.

"I want to dance," she answered him honestly, and Kurt just rolled his eyes in response.

"That is why we have Brittany," Kurt said, now half-dragging Rachel across the room. "Or, even better, Mike," he told her, and she felt hands grab her wrists to make her let go of Kurt, who quickly slid out of her grasp before Mike stepped in, his hands falling to her waist quickly to keep her steady.

"I just want to dance Mike," Rachel whined, and she felt him laugh.

"I know you do, but maybe it's not the best idea to dance after several shots of vodka and three cups of jungle juice while in heels," he reminded her.

"But they're so pretty," she said mournfully, looking down at the bright red peep toes. "They're my favorites."

"But you'll break an ankle, and then how are you supposed to perform on stage?" he said gently. She nodded, accepting the truth in his statement and pausing in her movements, fighting off a yawn. She didn't trick him though, and she wondered if he had always been observant as he asked if she needed to find a place to sleep.

"Yes please," she admitted, nearly falling on her face as Mike tried to push her towards the stairs. He paused momentarily before bending down to grab ahold of her legs, picking her up effortlessly as her eyes shot wide open, all too aware she was no longer on the floor. "Oh!" she exclaimed, looking up to see Mike roll his eyes at Santana's cat call from where she was sitting with Brittany on the floor, one of her hands mysteriously disappeared in what Rachel suspected, even in her drunken state, was up Brittany's skirt.

"If you want to take advantage of Berry, you can use the guest room to the left of Britt and my room," she offered , a grin on her face. "Though I don't know if we really need to hear Berry's un-doubtable screams all the way down here."

"Just as long as it doesn't cover Brittany's," Mike shot back, but carried Rachel up the stairs regardless.

"Normally I would say you could take advantage of me," Rachel rambled as Mike carried her past the living room where Blaine was now sitting with Finn and Artie, "but I think I might even be a little too drunk for that."

Mike laughed again, and she felt a warmth rush over her as he smiled down at her. "I wouldn't dream of taking advantage when you're clearly so intoxicated," he promised, and she nodded, resting her head against his shoulder as he finished bringing her to the room Santana had promised was there.

He put her down on the bed, pulling a blanket on top of her and moving a small trash can to the side of the bed-clearly he had experience taking care of the overly drunk. Rachel watched with one eye open as he moved around the room, but didn't speak until he went to leave. "Wait!" she called, her voice louder than she had intended, startling both of them.

"Did you need something else?" he asked, looking around to see if there was any other way to get her more comfortable.

"Stay with me," she asked, pouting a little bit. Mike hesitated for a minute-she could practically see the way his brain was working through the different outcomes of this, but eventually he caved, kicking off his own shoes and climbing over her to slide in on the other side of the bed. "Thank you," she whispered, pressing a small kiss to his shoulder as she snuggled deeper into the bed.

She was asleep before he even said "You're welcome."


	2. Breakfast & NYC

The sun was bright when she woke up the next morning, groaning a little in pain as she tried to roll over and hide her head under a pillow. She hadn't lied when she told Santana the previous night that she didn't drink that much, making each and every hangover that much worse. It wasn't until an arm slid over her waist, pulling her gently towards the body that she opened her eyes, panicking as she tried to remember exactly _who _she could have slept with the previous night.

She breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw Mike Chang sleeping soundly next to her, appearing as fully dressed as she was. If he was anything like he had been in high school then she wasn't worried at all, the soft spoken dancer would never take advantage of how drunk she had clearly been.

She closed her eyes, trying to fall back asleep for at least a little bit longer, hoping to avoid as much of the upcoming hangover as she possibly could, when someone started yelling on the floor below them. She couldn't make out words, just Santana's voice screeching about something. She would have assumed that maybe her and Brittany were going at it, as they were often prone to doing regardless of who was around, but then she heard a lower tone of voice reply. Curiosity got the best of her, and she sat up slowly, wincing a bit as the sun hit her retinas again. Mike stirred next to her, and she glanced down to see him opening his eyes, groaning a bit when the sun hit him.

"It's too damn bright in here," Mike complained, and she fought back a giggle, not even knowing where it had come from. He sat up next to her, rubbing his eye and yawning before looking over at Rachel, not seeming half as surprised at seeing her as she had been at seeing hm. "How you doing?" he asked, a small smirk on his face.

"Oh god," she blanched, now officially nervous. "How bad was I?"

"On a scale of one to ten, I'd place you at about an eight," he joked, and she dropped her head into her hands, groaning at the possibility of how obnoxious she had been. "You weren't quite to the level you had been in high school, where you started making out with everyone."

"That was one time," she whined. "I made out with _one _person _one _time, I don't know why everyone needs to keep bringing it up!"

"There was also the time you and Santana made out the summer after senior year," Mike reminded, and she crinkled her nose, a small 'oh yeah' falling from her lips.

"Kind of blocked that one from my memory," she shrugged. The screaming from downstairs was halted at the sound of something very large and _very _fragile breaking and shattering, both Rachel and Mike turning their heads towards the door as if someone would appear and explain the noise. "I was going to go see what was happening-"

"It's probably best that you don't," Mike laughed. "And I bet coffee and pancakes sounds like a much better idea than listening to whatever Santana's screeching about."

"That sounds like the best idea ever," she grinned, sliding her heels on and holding out her hand, Mike taking it without hesitation.

* * *

><p>Rachel was surprised at how effortless it was to talk to Mike. She wondered if it had always been that way and she had just never noticed, feeling slightly bad for basically ignoring his existence even though they were both involved in glee and their senior year production of <em>West Side Story<em>, even that one fateful football game.

"So, you never really got into why you and Kurt were back from New York last night…" Mike trailed off after they ordered some food, and Rachel flushed pink, had been hoping to get away without really mentioning how she had been driven away from her favorite city because of a _guy_.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," she said, fiddling with the straw in her cup of water.

"I like long stories," Mike smiled, and she was immediately comforted. She felt like she could trust him, trust that he wouldn't judge her or mock her for her actions.

"Well," she started, taking a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start. "I suppose it really all started back in our sophomore year of college-the year Blaine moved out to join us in the city." Mike nodded, sitting and listening as she went on to describe how Blaine, Rachel and Kurt had all lived together for a year or so-at least, until Kurt came home one day and found Rachel and Blaine in an extremely compromising position.

"You hooked up with your gay best friends gay boyfriend?" Mike asked, and unlike most people-who judged and told her how she was a horrible person for her actions, he seemed to be fighting back laughter.

"It wasn't-Blaine isn't 100% gay. He's _bisexual_, and while I agree that we handled that situation horribly, it's not-that is not the main point of the story Mike!" She argued, rolling her eyes as he let out a loud laugh.

"I'm sorry, it's not funny, but it kind of is," he said, leaning back in the booth across from her, clearly enjoying her story. She narrowed her eyes, unsure if she really wanted to go on, but when he prompted her with a quick "Well, you, Blaine and Kurt don't seem to hate each other now, so I take it that got fixed?" she continued.

"Yes, well, things were awkward for awhile. Kurt moved out, and Blaine and I tried to make it work for a little while, and I tried to apologize to Kurt and keep him as a friend, but by the time senior year of college rolled around, I was living with a new group of people, breaking up with Blaine and telling Kurt that there were only so many times I could apologize, so if he needed me he could make the effort."

"He must have taken that well," Mike commented.

"Not particularly. He didn't talk to me until graduation time, when we ran into each other at a matinee of _Wicked_ and made up. We don't spend as much time together as we used to, but we still try and meet up once every couple of weeks for coffee and to catch up. As for Blaine, I haven't seen him in a year in a half, but last I heard he was dating a boy from Parsons."

"So another Kurt then?"

"Essentially," she shrugged, sipping her coffee as their plates were delivered.

"Well, as interesting as all that is, that doesn't explain why you're back in Lima," Mike said after a few minutes, and Rachel made a face at him, trying to enjoy her pancakes.

"It's kind of embarrassing," she admitted after a moment.

"I bet not as embarrassing as my reason," he replied, shaking his head when she raised an eyebrow at him. "Nope, not until I hear your reason."

She let out a loud sigh, dramatic as possible, but Mike wasn't to be persuaded away from hearing this. "Okay, well, after Blaine and I broke up, I started seeing this boy from one of my theater classes," she said, rushing the words out. She almost hoped that if she told the story quickly, it wouldn't hurt as much, but she could already feel her stomach churning and her throat threatening to close and she hadn't even really started. "He was cute and funny and talented and he liked me, so I gave him a chance even though I didn't want to be distracted from graduation and getting onto Broadway." Mike nodded, chewing his pancakes slowly as she talked. "After school let out, I got a role in the chorus of a show while also working at a bar, because being a bartender gives pretty good tips and I needed the money to actually stay in New York."

"I thought you don't drink that much?" Mike asked, and she shook her head.

"I don't, I just serve alcohol. It's not like I can drink at work, and honestly I wouldn't even want to. Anyways, he got a job as part of the crew for a different show, and we moved in together, and everything was going well. Then last weekend, he took me out on this super romantic date, and I was almost sure he was going to propose-not that I'd say yes, because I'm still trying to establish my career, and marriage isn't something that I'm ready for yet."

"Of course," Mike interjected.

"Well, that wasn't the case. When we got back to the apartment, and things started-happening, someone knocked on the door."

"Oh no," Mike said, frowning a bit.

"So I go to answer the door, because I'm a little weirded out that someone is at our house at like, 1am, but it's New York, so you never know. And there's this small little blonde thing there, asking if Paul is around." Mike was cringing now, but she had to finish her story. "At first I was confused, but then he came to the door-and his face, oh god his face just lit up like a Christmas tree." She bit back a sob, she hadn't even realized how quickly she was ready to dissolve into tears, but she was strong, she could get through this. "It turns out they were high school sweethearts, and he was just dating me until she came to the city, and he didn't even say goodbye before walking out that door with her. Like I was nothing."

She focused her eyes on the ceiling, trying to fight back the tears that wanted to fall, because she still barely knew Mike, and they were in public, and she wasn't going to waste anymore time crying over the asshole. She was so intent on the light above their table that she didn't notice Mike moving, not until his arms were wrapped around her, her head falling onto his shoulder as a few tears trickled out.

"I'm so sorry Rach," he whispered, and she gave him a small smile, her eyes still watery as they verged on tears, but she refused to let them fall, trying to blink them away.

"Yeah, well," she shrugged, but he just tightened his grip on her, holding her even tighter. "Now it's your turn," she tried to joke, trying to take the focus off of her. He hesitated, but grabbed his plate and slid it over to the side of the table where they both were now, cutting up some more of his pancakes.

"Well, it's a simple story. Boy moves to a big city-although in my case, it was Chicago, not New York-after college, gets a good job, economy starts to fail, boy loses job. Being unemployed isn't exactly helpful in paying rent, so I had to move back with my parents for a little while." She frowned, not knowing whose situation was worse.

"That sucks," she told him earnestly, placing a hand on his arm in sympathy. He just nodded and shrugged.

"It's not that bad. Investment banking isn't exactly the most fun job in the entire world anyways."

"Really? Because I heard that was like, the single best job anyone could get," she tried to joke, and he shot her a smile.

"Plus, now I can figure out what it is I really want to do."

"Like, say, move to New York and start dancing again?" she teased, only half kidding.

"Maybe," he smirked, taking one of her pancakes without even asking. "Maybe one day I'll just show up on your doorstep because I need a place to crash."

"I've had worse house guests," she grinned, trying not to let herself get excited over the prospect of having him show up one day. "It's not like you're Puck." He let out another laugh, making her giggle in spite of herself.

"No, I'd have to say, I think I'm a much better behaved guest than Puck," he joked back.

"Well then," she said, and while her tone was light and joking, she realized she meant every word as it came out of her mouth. "You're welcome anytime."


	3. Crazy Girl

Rachel spent most of her time the next few days with Mike. They went out to eat, walked around parks, watched movies at the others houses. She barely saw anyone else while she was there, and she realized she was content with that.

More than content with that.

Her feelings for Mike weren't as startling as they might have been if she didn't know herself better. But she knew all of her qualities-good and bad-and realized that she was falling for Mike. She refused to let herself act on it though, knowing this was more than likely a rebound thing, her feelings being built out of a need to be loved and appreciated and his kind nature supplied that without hesitation. So she kept quiet about it, instead filling Mike in on tales of her time in New York and listening to his own about Chicago.

The day before she was set to leave, the two ran into Santana at the diner they had been frequenting every morning. "Berry, Chang," Santana greeted, sliding into the booth next to Rachel and stealing a corner of her toast as she moved over to make room for Santana.

"Morning Santana," Rachel said, vaguely irritated that she had interrupted Mike's story about _his _last relationship, as demanded by Rachel as payback for making her tell hers.

"What have you two lovebirds been up to all week?" Santana asked nonchalantly, ignoring both Mike and Rachel's cheeks flushing as she stole the entire piece of toast from Rachel's plate.

"We're not-" Rachel tried at the same time as Mike went "We're just friends," but Santana just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, I'm sure even if anything happened it'd be the most boring relationship in the history of anything. What are you even still doing here Berry? I thought you were only staying a few days?"

Rachel glared as Santana continued to chew on her toast, but answered her nonetheless. "I leave tomorrow morning."

"Well, maybe we should have one last get together. I know the perfect place," Santana grinned, causing Rachel to worry as Santana stole her phone and put the address in for her. "Show up there around, let's say 10pm. I'll tell the rest of the group." She didn't even say goodbye before she stood up and headed for the register, grabbing a bag full of carry out containers and walking out the door.

"So I guess we're all getting together again tonight?" Mike joked, going back to his pancakes.

"Apparently," Rachel sighed, not sure if she was up for another night that involved alcohol and the old glee club. She had a vague feeling she didn't have much of a choice in the matter though.

* * *

><p>Rachel found herself at a small bar just outside of Lima later that night, and it seemed Santana had managed to round everyone up. Even though it wasn't a karaoke bar, people kept going up on a makeshift stage and singing loudly to the music, Rachel ignoring her decision to stay sober the night before she flew once more when Quinn brought her a shot.<p>

"Drink up Berry!" Santana said, handing her another. She laughed, accepting the drinks and searching the room for Mike. They had arrived together before the guys immediately pulled him away, the girls standing mostly around the bar like they were all back in some sort of middle school stand off-the girls versus the boys. It was more than a little ridiculous, but Rachel knew it was for the best if Mike wasn't around her. She was more than a little handsy if she was drunk, especially if she had feelings for someone, and she didn't want to ruin this new friendship that they were building.

It took another hour or so before everyone was mixed in with everyone, Tina on Artie's lap and Quinn swaying off of Puck, Blaine sitting next to Rachel as they watched their friends around them.

"Whenever we all get together, it's like we never even left high school," she commented, Blaine chuckling next to her.

"I think we'll always all be the same people we were back then when we're together," he shrugged, and she looked at him sadly.

"We're not the same at all though," she replied, and he frowned, looking at her seriously.

"I know," he nodded, patting her hand gently. "I know you've grown a lot since high school-since college even."

"You mean she doesn't steal peoples boyfriends anymore?" Kurt half-joked as he intruded on them, both Rachel and Blaine rolling their eyes.

"No, I don't do that anymore," Rachel responded.

"Well, word on the street is you have an eye for Mike these days."

"Word on the street?" Rachel tried to evade, but now both Blaine and Kurt were staring at her. "What?" she exclaimed, trying to sip her drink and ignore both of them.

"You do like him," Blaine teased gently, Kurt rolling his eyes.

"No shit, the two of them have been looking at each other all night. Chang's denied it, because he doesn't want to keep her here. What's your reason for avoiding it?" Kurt explained, turning to Rachel.

"I'm not avoiding anything," she retorted haughtily, sighing for dramatic effect when they both continued to stare at her, waiting for an explanation. "Fine, okay, but it's not a big deal, okay? Mike has been a great guy this week. He's been a great _friend_. But we all know what happens as soon as a guy starts being too nice to me, especially when I'm still upset about someone else."

"You make out with them?" Blaine questioned, wincing when she reached over and hit him.

"I _fall _for them. And Mike's too nice of a guy to end up being my rebound from Paul, I don't want to hurt him," she said, Kurt nodding in agreement.

"I say if you have feelings for him, go for it," Blaine shrugged, Kurt shooting him a glare.

"Of course _you _do," Kurt snapped. "But, Rach, you're an adult now. You can't just go around hurting everyone for a few days of fun. Besides, you're leaving tomorrow. Where could it even go for you two?"

"I know Kurt," she replied warily before the two could erupt in an argument. The three of them may have gotten along reasonably well in New York, but clearly Blaine hadn't been lying when he said they reverted back to their high school ways when everyone was together. "Why do you think I haven't done anything about it?"

She didn't have to worry about Kurt's smug look and Blaine's argument as Santana grabbed her and Kurt and dragged them to the makeshift dance floor, Blaine trailing after them as they reached the group of their friends all moving like crazy. The only two who seemed to have relatively decent moves were Mike and Brittany, a fact that shocked no one. It also didn't stop them from letting loose, everyone dancing with everyone else.

It wasn't long before Rachel found herself dancing with Mike, ignoring Kurt's glare and Blaine's thumbs up as the two moved together. It was nothing but harmless dancing she figured, something she did all the time with her friends. There was no reason for this to be any different, for her to feel a jolt of electricity when his hands rested themselves on her hips, for her to find herself staring into his eyes and fighting the urge to kiss him.

"Rachel," he said quietly, and she barely acknowledged that they had stopped moving, everything was moving so fast, everyone around them oblivious as Mike moved closer to her, her breathing practically stopped as his lips grazed hers, not quite a kiss, but not quite _not_. It was like he was asking if it was okay, and she so badly wanted to say _yes, please, it's more than okay_, regardless that she knew it was a bad idea.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, sucking her bottom lip in to gnaw on it for a second before she decided _fuck it_ and pulled his head to hers, kissing him with everything she had.

She heard cheers from around them, presumably Blaine while Kurt sulked, but Mike was a good kisser-better than she had expected, certainly- and she didn't care much beyond that. She was content to stay right there, in the middle of some dive bar, kissing Mike forever, when someone around them mentioned New York, snapping her attention back to reality.

She was leaving the next morning.

Mike would be stuck in Lima.

Long distance relationships were even harder than normal ones.

"I'm sorry," she said, and she saw confusion cross his face before she kissed his cheek, mumbling another soft apology before she darted out the door.

_It's better this way_, she told herself as she started walking until she was sure she could call a cab without being noticed. _Neither of us will end up hurt this way_.


	4. When The Heartache Ends

Rachel went back to New York, tired, confused, and alone. It wasn't how she wanted to go, but she could only take so much time away from her life before she her absence would become more noticeable. When she walked into the apartment, it was cold and empty and all the work she had achieved in the past week in moving on from what had happened nearly evaporated.

Still, it wasn't like she could move out-or afford this place on her own. She'd have to place an ad up soon asking for a roommate, but for now all she wanted to do was crash in her own bed and sleep for the next decade.

* * *

><p>"Rachel, where the <em>hell <em>have you been?" One of the waitresses called across the bar, but Rachel just shrugged as she mixed another drink, sighing quietly to herself as she handed it to the small blonde who quickly walked off to rejoin her group of friends. Working in a bar was usually fun, watching all the different people who were there. When she was in love, and it was reciprocated, she could watch as couples broke up, made up, met for the first time, shared a lot of firsts that Rachel wasn't even sure would be legal in public. It used to make her laugh, and cringe, and her coworkers and her would comment on everything going around them while constantly moving.

But tonight was her first night back since her week in Lima, and not only was she putting her past with Paul behind, but she was also trying to put whatever it was she felt for Mike behind as well.

It wasn't going well.

* * *

><p>"Rachel, you have a visitor!" She raised an eyebrow but handed off the rum and coke before switching places with the other bartender, saying she'd be back in a minute. She assumed it'd be a friend from her theater company, or maybe even Blaine or Kurt now back in the city. The last person she expected was Paul.<p>

"Hi," he said quietly, as she wove her arms around herself, trying to block him out as much as she could.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk, to explain to you what happened." His tone was soothing, but when he reached out a hand she backed away from it violently, nearly knocking someone over.

"You don't have to explain. I saw with my own eyes, remember? The 'love of your life' came back and now I'm forgotten." She wanted her words to come out sharp, with an edge to them, but she felt the tears welling up in the corner of her eyes and knew she sounded broken.

"Please, just 5 minutes," he pleaded with her, and despite her better judgment she followed him outside where it was a tad quieter.

"You have 5 minutes. Use them wisely," she snapped once they reached a quieter area.

"I never meant for it to end like this," he started, and already she tensed up, not even sure if she wanted to hear this. "You're such a great girl, Rachel. You're talented and beautiful and intelligent and-"

"I don't need the pep talk," she interrupted. "You want to give me an explanation? Give me an explanation,"

"Fine. Yes, Chloe was my first love, and yes I left her behind a long time ago. New York was never her dream-kind of like your ex, what's his name, Fred-"

"Finn," she corrected automatically.

"Yes! Like him, she never dreamed about Manhattan and all it could offer, so I thought I lost her forever. And then you came along, and you were everything I was looking for, and I was ready to spend forever with you if you let me."

"And then she came back," Rachel deadpanned, and he nodded, running a hand over his face.

"I was as surprised as you were, but when she showed up I realized I couldn't be with you the way you need someone, not if all it took was Chloe showing up and throwing my whole world out of balance. So I left. And when I tried to come find you, to explain all this a week ago, you were gone."

"Did you think I was going to stick around after that? I was humiliated and hurt and upset," she hissed. "But you know what? I don't need you. If all I was to you was some sort of replacement, clearly your feelings weren't as genuine as you made them seem. So I'm glad she came back, and I hope you two are happy." She stormed by him without another word, and as she started preparing drinks once more, she realized she had been telling the truth.

It may have hurt, but she didn't want him.

Not anymore.

* * *

><p>"I'm taking off for the night," Rachel said after she finished cleaning off the bar, grabbing her cup full of tips for the night and throwing its contents into her bag. She'd sort through it at home, just like she always did. She waved goodbye to her coworkers and stepped into the cold New York air, heading for the subway.<p>

She spent the ride staring blankly at the poster across from her, clearing her brain out of all thoughts as she yawned. She knew she had a big day tomorrow, they were back to rehearsals for their show which was opening in only a few weeks. It wasn't the most glamorous of roles, but it was a start, and right now that's all she wanted. Starts.

She got off the empty train when they reached her stop, letting out another loud yawn as she climbed the steps to the street above. She'd have to ask around for roommates the next day, see if anyone needed a spare place to live. She had a small apartment, but it was at least in Manhattan-half the company was living in Brooklyn, or even worse-the Bronx. She was sure she could find _someone _to come live with her for the time.

She was so lost in her thoughts she almost tripped over the person sitting on the stairs outside her building, nearly falling over until hands reached out to grab her. "Whoa," she heard, and when she looked up to see Mike of all people, she nearly fell over again. "Sure you don't do any drinking at that bartending job?" he asked with a smirk, and she rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh as she unlocked the door to let them into the building, Mike trailing quietly behind her.

She didn't have too much time to panic, regardless of how much she wanted to. She didn't know how he was there, or why, or how he had found her, but she was going to demand all those answers as soon as they were in the safety of her own apartment. They would be in her turf, her area, her comfort zone.

Except when she walked inside, she forgot how empty it was. Even if she didn't want Paul anymore, she couldn't forget their relationship, or that he had lived there with her. Not when a picture of the two of them was still the first thing you saw when you walked into the apartment, or a pair of his shoes were still stuffed in the hallway closet.

She pointed to a chair, signaling Mike to sit while she dropped her purse on the kitchen table and started boiling some water, pulling mugs down for tea. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked as she readied the drinks for them, not even bothering to ask how he had wanted his-she had watched for a week as he ordered the same exact tea from the Lima Bean when they went, knew that he liked 2 sugars and a dash of milk to make it taste better.

"Well, I was living this pretty boring life of just trying to figure out what I wanted to do with myself," Mike started as Rachel moved to sit in a chair across from him, butterflies already starting to form in her stomach as he talked. "And then this girl that I hadn't seen since high school came in and made me realize that maybe I wasn't looking for somet_hing_, I was looking for some_one_."

"Mike-" Rachel started, ready to go on about how she couldn't ask him to relocate to New York, but she couldn't do a long distance relationship, but he held up a finger to shush her. Surprised, she quieted down, sipping her tea.

"We just started getting to know each other Rach, and I'm already falling for you. I have nothing holding me back in Lima, no reason to stay. Why shouldn't I move to New York, where I know a gorgeous girl who could possibly get me to start dancing again?" He ended his sentence with a smile, and she thought her heart might explode just from the simple sentence.

"You can't possibly move here," she said instead, trying not to get her hopes up too soon. "Where would you go?"

"For now, at least, I was hoping I could stay here, until I'm on my feet-" he chuckled at his pun, and even she let out a small laugh. "And then I'd figure it out from there. I was really just thinking for tonight, that hopefully you won't kick me out…" he trailed off, and she smiled.

"I would never kick you out Michael," she assured him, and his grin made her own break even wider. "So, you're going to move to New York, for me?"

"Not just for you," he said, noticing her slight panic. "That would be way too much weight on us. But I want to start dancing again, you're doing so well at trying to achieve your dreams, I figured where's a better place than New York to try and achieve my own?"

"I'm so happy for you Mike," she told him, and he laughed, grabbing her hands and pulling her towards him, standing them both up as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"Be happy for _us, _Rach. You do-I mean, you kissed me, I can only assume that you-" Rachel hushed Mike's new found worry with a kiss, soft and simple, breaking away only to give him a soft smile.

"If you're in, I'm in," she promised, and his face relaxed, his eyes focused on hers.

"I'm in."


End file.
